THE ‘HOUND OF HEAVEN’!

   ‘Jumping Dog’ photo by Ron Fung on Unsplash.  

I told my older brother one day that ‘the Hound of Heaven’ was after him and he’d never get away.

He passed away this week. This post is in remembrance of him and as an encouragement to those who are praying for family members to be saved.  Remember the scripture, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’  Acts 16:31.  And Jesus will, like the hound pictured above , take great joy in chasing after and revealing Himself to your loved ones!                              

‘The Hound of Heaven’ phrase has its origin in an English poem by the same name written by Francis Thompson and published in 1890.  It is a 182-line poem, far too long to add here.  He was a man who understood that God never stops pursuing you, like the hound pictured above, regardless of what you do.                               
He suffered from depression, opium addiction and suicidal thoughts and yet writes lines toward the end of his poem that describes a loving God who would still call to him:

Rise, clasp My hand, and come!’ Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all, 
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly? ‘
Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am he Whom thou seekest! 

‘C.S. Lewis once described God as the Hound of Heaven.  By that phrase he meant that God doggedly pursued him and would not let go.  Lewis came into Christian faith, in his own words, “kicking and screaming” as God’s faithful pursuit won out in his life.’  
Reverend Tim Ehrhardt. 

There is nowhere you can hide!  Psalm 139:7-10 makes this clear!

‘Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.’  

As Timothy writes in 2 Timothy 2:13, (Even) ‘If we are faithless, He remains faithful!!!’

I met the Lord in 1971.  When I asked Him into my heart, it was like being hit with a bucket of Love.  I was so excited, I had to share my experience with my family.  The scripture gives us a real hope for them because, like I said before, it says in Acts 16:31, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’  The following, like a stone being dropped in the water is the wonderful ripple effect of my one decision!

It took my brother 17 years to respond to the hound of heaven and be saved.  The following is his story.  It is a story full of hope for your loved ones, about the humor of our Lord and the joy of serving Him!

My family always attended church.  We were good Presbyterians.  Unfortunately, the church didn’t preach salvation.  When I asked the pastor about all the various religions, he said, “The way I see it, they all have different golf clubs, but we are all playing the same game!”  Hogwash! 
‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (only Jesus) under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12.

I met the Lord and was ‘filled with the Spirit’ at an Episcopal church pastored by Father Bennett.  

I lived at home at that time and began to share my experiences with my family.  My mom immediately responded and wanted to be Spirit Filled!  She woke up from a dream speaking in tongues!

My dad was a working alcoholic!  One day he came home drunk, tripped on my sculpture and broke his hip.  He wouldn’t let anyone help him because he was embarrassed.  I leaned down and prayed for him and the Lord gave me a word.  I told him, the Lord says to you, “go and sin no more lest something worse befall you.”  He later told me that was exactly what he needed to hear.  About a year later he got thrown in jail for drunk driving and came out a new man.  He never drank again.  

Mom and I continued to share with my brother.  One day he said, “if you have nothing better to talk about then don’t come over at all!”  We ignored him.  How can you not include the Lord in a conversation?  My mom passed away and I gave her eulogy.  I held nothing back and those who heard me including my brother got a good taste of the Gospel.

Later on, my dad was living alone in an apartment.  My wife, Kris and I attended a ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory Seminar’ with Kenneth Copeland.  During the weeklong seminar, Kenneth spoke on Philippians 1:21-25 where the Apostle Paul appears to make a choice to stay with his disciples rather than going to be with Christ.  He said, ‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.’

The bible promises us three score and ten or by reason of strength, fourscore years.  Kenneth related that the Apostle Paul was over 70 years old and appeared to have a choice to stay on earth or go to Heaven and be with Christ.

My wife and I shared this story with my dad.  He said, “I am ready to go, and I am not afraid”. He was 71 years old.  They found him dead in his apartment the next day!  And of course, I shared this amazing story with my brother.

He tells me everything.  He was a member of the Seattle Symphony Chorale.  He was in a tuxedo all lined up on stage ready to sing with the Seattle Symphony when he suddenly felt sick.  Where are you going to go?  He said, “Jesus” and was instantly healed!

He took a Seattle Seahawk football player out to lunch on business and the player shared his testimony with my brother all about how he met Jesus!

My brother’s daughter Cindy attended Western Washington College in Bellingham, north of Seattle. Her roommate just happened to be affiliated with a campus Christian organization and helped her meet the Lord.  Reg attended her baptism in a swimming pool in Bellingham. My brother came back to tell me just how beautiful the ceremony was.

Then he tells me that his boss asked him to come into his office and sit down.  With tears in his eyes and a shaky voice, his boss begins to relate how he was despondent because he was facing retirement and didn’t know what he was going to do with his life.  In this state of mind, he stepped into a church, went to the alter and met Jesus!!!  The hound of heaven strikes again!

His boss asked him to participate in a weekly bible study with him in his office and gave my brother what looked like a gold-plated bible!  After several weeks of study, my brother exclaimed, “We are reading Hebrews, and oh it is so rich!!”  And I knew that in this 17^th year, God had opened his eyes!  They continued to study together.  One day his boss gave him a letter.  He said go home and get comfortable, sit in your favorite chair, put on some music and read the first side of the letter.  He did.  It was all about believing that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Then he read the second page and it asked him to make Jesus Christ his Lord and he did!!!!!!!!!

And he just finished meeting the two scriptural requirements to be saved!

‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’  Romans 10:9.

Pray for your loved ones and let loose ‘The Hound of Heaven’ and watch what happens!

What a Wonderful God He Is!